Foil: Your right to Know.
“A development plan proposing 637 townhouses with retail businesses has been filed with Ramapo, but the concept still needs approvals from the Town Board and land-use panel.
The Miller’s Pond development is targeted for the 143.6-acre former Minisceongo Golf Course along Pomona Road in the Pomona section of Ramapo. The scheme includes 103,000 square feet of commercial space, creating a contained residential community with retail stores, according to initial plans filed with Ramapo. The Miller’s Pond could increase area housing with another potential development on the nearby New York Country Club golf course property in New Hempstead. Those New Hempstead 150 acres have recently been sold for a reported $35 million to a developer. Development plans have not been filed with New Hempstead, village Mayor Abe Sicker said Monday.
The former Minisceongo Golf Course Photo Peter Carr and John Meore / The Journal News
Golf course sold: Monsey company behind $32 million Minisceongo purchase
2017 plans: Townhouse community planned for Minisceongo Golf Course
Initial plans for Ramapo golf course property
Housing at the former Minisceongo Golf Course site has been anticipated since the property sold in 2016 for $32 million to Joseph Kazarnovsky of Monsey and Mark Mandelbaum of Toronto, Canada, principals of Mount Ivy LLC.
The company, along with Lindifrim Limited Partnership of Lakewood, New Jersey, bought the property from developer Eric Bergstol. The Bergstol family opened the 60-acre golf course in 1994.
Under Ramapo’s recently approved Northeast Corridor planned unit development zoning, a developer needs Town Board approval for construction on 20 acres or more.
The five-member Town Board referred the Miller’s Pond plans on Jan. 25 to the Ramapo Community Design Review Committee for a scheduled Feb. 15 zoom meeting. The CDRC reviews the initial plans and how it fits within town zoning. The committee could recommend changes before the Planning Board gets the application.
Supervisor Michael Specht said the board will await the review process before deciding what to approve. He noted Gov. Kathy Hochul has stated more housing is needed. The governor’s plan includes a proposed law that would allow controversial accessory apartments in suburban communities.
Specht said that given the size of the former golf course property, the number of townhouses and commercial businesses seems reasonable. He noted Clarkstown is considering 500 housing units near the train station in Nanuet.
Ramapo’s revised zoning can increase the density and enhance the value of the property. The potential Ramapo current zoning for the closed Minisceongo Golf Course allows for 122 houses.
“We have a demand for housing in the town of Ramapo,” Specht said. “I wouldn’t conclude at this stage it’s too much.”
Ramapo Town Board members have a history of changing zoning to allow higher-density housing. The board in 2010 rezoned the proposed 474 Patrick Farm development along routes 202 and 306. The board in 2020 rezoned the 224-unit Pascack Ridge development, bordering Clarkstown and Spring Valley. Lawsuits have stalled both developments.
Pascack Ridge: Judge allows challenge to Ramapo’s higher density zoning
Patrick Farm: Ramapo Housing project is back, but concerns remain. Kazarnovsky, the former president of the Yeshiva of Spring Valley who built a modern school in New Hempstead, could not be reached for comment.
Read the full Journal News coverage here.
